Sverklo
Local-first code intelligence MCP server with hybrid BM25 + ONNX vector search, symbol-level impact analysis, diff-aware PR review with risk scoring, and persistent memory tied to git state.
What is Sverklo?
Sverklo is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to local-first code intelligence mcp server with hybrid bm25 + onnx vector search, symbol-level impact analysis, diff-aware pr review with risk scoring, and persistent memory tied to git state.
Local-first code intelligence MCP server with hybrid BM25 + ONNX vector search, symbol-level impact analysis, diff-aware PR review with risk scoring, and persistent memory tied to git state.
This server falls under the Developer Tools category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Local-first code intelligence MCP server with hybrid BM25 +
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
NPM
npx -y sverkloManual Installation
npx -y sverkloConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Sverklo
Sverklo is a local-first MCP server that gives AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Codex CLI) persistent memory of your repository's structure and history. It combines hybrid BM25 and ONNX vector search using a locally cached all-MiniLM-L6-v2 model, a symbol-level impact graph for blast-radius analysis, diff-aware PR review with risk scoring, and bi-temporal memory tied to git SHAs — all without sending any code to an external service. With 37 MCP tools and sub-second incremental refresh, it replaces ad-hoc grep with ranked, relationship-aware code retrieval that scales to large monorepos.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18.x or higher (for npx/npm install)
- Git repository initialized in your project directory
- An MCP-compatible coding agent: Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code with MCP support, or any MCP-speaking client
- ~86 MB disk space for the ONNX embedding model (downloaded once to ~/.sverklo/models/ on first run)
- No API keys required — fully offline after first model download
Preview what Sverklo finds in your repo
Run the prove command in dry-run mode to see a sample of real repo-memory output from your own codebase before changing any config. This downloads the ONNX model on first run and caches it under ~/.sverklo.
cd your-project
npm exec --yes --package=sverklo@latest -- sverklo prove --no-write --guided --markdownPreview the setup changes
Run init in dry-run mode to see exactly which files (MCP config, CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md) would be created or modified before committing.
npx -y sverklo init --dry-runInstall globally and initialize
Install sverklo globally, then run init. It auto-detects your installed coding agent, writes the correct MCP config, appends instructions to AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md, and runs sverklo doctor to verify the handshake.
npm install -g sverklo
sverklo initConfigure your MCP client manually (alternative)
If you prefer manual setup over sverklo init, add this entry to your MCP client config. No environment variables are required.
{
"mcpServers": {
"sverklo": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "sverklo"]
}
}
}Verify the setup
Ask your coding agent to list available sverklo tools, or run the doctor command to confirm the MCP server is connected and indexed.
sverklo doctorSverklo Examples
Client configuration
Minimal MCP config for any MCP-compatible client. No API keys or environment variables needed — Sverklo is fully local.
{
"mcpServers": {
"sverklo": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "sverklo"]
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example queries for your coding agent that leverage Sverklo's symbol graph, vector search, and memory tools.
- "Search the codebase for authentication flow handling."
- "Show me all callers of the UserService.validate method and their files."
- "What is the blast radius if I change the BillingAccount.charge function?"
- "Review the current git diff and rank the changed files by risk."
- "What architectural decisions were recorded about the auth module?"
- "Which files are most load-bearing in this codebase based on the dependency graph?"Troubleshooting Sverklo
First run is slow or the prove command hangs for several minutes
The all-MiniLM-L6-v2 ONNX model (~86 MB) is downloaded from HuggingFace on first use. This is a one-time download cached to ~/.sverklo/models/. Subsequent runs are fully offline and fast.
sverklo doctor reports 'MCP handshake failed'
Ensure your coding agent has been restarted after the MCP config was written. In Claude Code, run /mcp to check connected servers. For Cursor, restart the IDE after editing .cursor/mcp.json.
Search returns irrelevant results or misses known symbols
Run 'sverklo index' to force a full re-index of the repository. The incremental index updates on file changes, but a manual re-index is needed after large rebases or when adding new file types. Check 'sverklo doctor' to see indexing status.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sverklo
What is Sverklo?
Sverklo is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that local-first code intelligence mcp server with hybrid bm25 + onnx vector search, symbol-level impact analysis, diff-aware pr review with risk scoring, and persistent memory tied to git state. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Sverklo?
Install via npm with the command: npx -y sverklo. Then add the server configuration to your AI client's JSON config file (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json).
Which AI clients work with Sverklo?
Sverklo works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Sverklo free to use?
Yes, Sverklo is open source and available under the MIT license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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Set Up Sverklo in Your Editor
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Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
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